Week 3 

Maximilian Probstel 

ASA 002 Section A03

This week’s article Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety: Ethnic, Gender and Generational Differences in Asian American College Access and Choices is written by OiYan Poon and Ajani Byrd. The article explores the expectations of Asian Americans parents, to have their offspring attend a prestigious college or university.

Growing up, my mother pushed me to be the very best I could be. When I complained about my homework, my mother would always tell me that whilst I was playing outside with friends, watching a movie or playing video games, kids my age in other families would be studying. On one hand it is a universal understanding that parents are there to push their kids as much as possible. On the other hand, tiger moms put their children under a lot of pressure with high expectations. In the article, one of the asian american interviewees told her story of when she got rejected from almost all colleges she applied to. Instead of receiving the needed support from her parents, when she "failed" her tiger mom started to create this hostile environment towards her. In my own experience, I benefited from the positive support I received from my parents. My parents always supported me, I was not restricted to picking only the best schools(with low acceptance rates), nor schools that were very close to home. I had more freedom and could pick a school I liked best. When it came to choosing a university, even though the counsellors at my school knew more than my mother, for me, my mother's approval was very important. Choosing a university that made my mother proud meant a lot to me. Therefore, I can relate to the 52% of asked Asian Americans who responded their most influential factor where their parents in picking a college.

Another topic addressed in this article, is the bias in acceptance to elitist universities towards white applicants. The article explains how white applicants had a higher acceptance percentage in their first choice university, than asian american applicants. The article highlights it is harder for asian americans to get into elitist schools. A family friend of ours, whilst growing up in San Jose, in high school graduated top of class and received multiple scholarships. In 1987, he filed an affirmative action lawsuit against UC Berkeley because they rejected his application, even with all his qualifications. He received media attention for his case and later ended up studying at Harvard, but this issue of qualified asian american applicants getting rejected to certain colleges, still prevails. 

Question: With tuition of private/public schools rising, would tiger moms still encourage their children to apply for the best schools even if that potentially puts their children in a huge college debt?

Attached is the article of our family friend and his lawsuit against UC Berkeley.

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-07-19/magazine/tm-4573_1_asian-student

References: 

           Allred, Nancy Chung. "Asian Americans and Affirmative Action: From Yellow Peril to Model Minority and Back Again." Asian American Law Journal3rd ser. 14.1 (January 2007): 57-84. Https://canvas.ucdavis.edu/courses/105891/files/folder/Week%20of%20Readings/Week3?preview=1069152. Web. 16 Apr. 2017. <http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38JS23>.

            LINDA MATHEWS | Linda Mathews is a Times assistant foreign editor. "When Being Best Isn't Good Enough : Why Yat-pang Au Won't Be Going to Berkeley." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 July 1987. Web. 16 Apr. 2017. <http://articles.latimes.com/1987-07-19/magazine/tm-4573_1_asian-student>.

            Poon, O and A Byrd. "Beyond Tiger Mom Anxiety: Ethnic, Gender and Generational Differences in Asian American College Access and Choices." Journal of College Admission, 2013.